Recall Madness! The Tinker Bell novelty lamp

Coming off such a banner toy recall year, I was really hoping the industry would kick off 2008 with something really memorable and impressive — like exploding Tinker Toys, or some New and Improved Aqua Dots that are coated in PCP.

Instead, we’ve had a very lean month so far. It’s not that there aren’t any dangerous toys out there, they’re all just so boring. For example, check out this set of recently recalled toy wrestler figures. Are these the worst toy ever? Did I miss a new ill-advised fashion trend combining bicycle shorts, knee pads and combat boots?

Below is the latest edition of Recall Madness!, a consumer advocacy series from The Poop, meant to help overwhelmed parents gauge how upset they should be about the latest toy recall. The Recall Outrage Index grades each recall on a score of 0 to 100 — the Aqua Dots date rape drug recall holds the all-time high score with a 97.1, followed by the Easy-Bake Oven recall with a 96.5. More rules are available here.

Tinker Bell Novelty Lamp Recall: First of all, recalling a product because of lead is so 2007. And I’m not especially moved by the potential danger of this product. If your kid has a habit of licking electrical appliances, lead poisoning is probably going to be the least of your problems. It’s also worth noting that Tinker Bell was one of the more mischievous Disney characters, so should we really be surprised that a lamp bearing her name is covered in toxic paint?

That being said, the lamp does get a five point beloved Disney character bonus, and a few extra points for its relatively large 60,000 unit recall. Plus, as of this writing, it’s still being sold on EBay …